Work Text:
Kukui had been wanting to propose for a long time. He had—waited, and he was glad he did.
Everything with Lusamine…and…
But now things were looking up. Sure, Ash’s mom still wasn’t calling, and Lillie was still having trouble with Lusamine, but—it was all settling. Life was moving on.
Burnet—the lovely, lovely, woman, with a smile as sweet and sugary as a chocolate fudge sundae, who squealed every time the Masked Royal was even mentioned, who he loved with all his heart—had long since become a permanent resident in their home. They were a—he still couldn’t quite believe it, but they were a family already. So it was natural, of course, what followed.
They walked on the beach. Kukui bought a specialized pokeball. He put the ring in. He took a deep breath to try and settle his nerves. He picked the perfect time, perfect day.
Burnet didn’t have a clue.
The waves lapped at their ankles. The sun was caught in the moment before sunset, amber bleeding into marigold. The water, alit like fire, made Burnet’s skin glow. He wasn’t sure whether it was the lighting or a blush that reddened her cheeks as she stared into his eyes.
“Try and guess what I’m thinking!”
He thought he had an idea, but—well, this was good a time as any, right?
“I choose you!”
It was perfect. She said the perfect thing. Kukui whipped around the pokeball, and she looked confused, for a second. He smiled. He turned it over. He opened it. The ring inside sparkled, the red of the skies glinting off silver.
“May I…choose you?”
It was so cheesy. He knew it was. But that just made it better, didn’t it?
There was a moment of silence, the only emotion on her face a silent sort of shock. Everything froze—even the colors of sunset stilling in the sky. The waves no longer crashed.
He was anxious, for a second. Was she going to say no? After all this time, after everything, would she?
And then that dazzling grin he had become so fond of broke out on her face, and this time he knew why her cheeks were pink. Burnet was gorgeous. Tapu, he loved this woman so much.
“Yes!” she shouted, loud and joyful and the most wonderful sound he’d ever heard.
His grin split his face.
They walked back to the house, hands interlocked and swinging like seven-year-olds on the playground. Kukui was pretty sure he had a dumb grin on his face, but he was engaged.
He was so excited to tell Ash.
The door creaked as they walked in, the kid concerned about something or another. The two of them, standing together, looked on all the residents of their home—Ash, his pokemon, Rotom—smiled, looked to each other, took a breath, and told him.
“You’re getting married?!”
Ash was overjoyed, smiling his own megawatt smile (he and Burnet were similar in that way, huh?) as he rocked on his heels. He practically launched himself into their arms, and something much deeper than joy swelled in Kukui’s heart—fondness, pride, and—love—for Burnet, for Ash, for everything. He hugged back tighter. They were a family.
____________________________
Ash was so excited! He’d never really been to a wedding before. Not much cared when he was younger, and it wasn’t like he stuck around with anyone long enough to get an invite. Burnet and Kukui said they wouldn’t be having a ceremony, but he didn’t care at all. This was so cool!
He didn’t even try to suppress the way he couldn’t stop bouncing on his heels, or the way his hands were fluttering with excitement because they were getting married! Kukui had very carefully instructed him not to tell his classmates until the teacher himself could announce it, and Ash understood, but he was practically vibrating with the need to talk about it with someone!
He didn’t have to wait that long, after all, because Kukui appeared in a similarly elated state and announced it practically as soon as he walked into the classroom. His classmates were so excited, and before he knew it they were planning a surprise wedding. Ash didn’t really know what went into it. There was…cake, right? And flowers? And…he’d never been to a wedding before.
The girls seemed to know exactly what to do, though, and it was a whirl of a day—visiting the florist, inviting everyone, getting Principal Oak in on it— before everything was ready.
Right before Ash went home, Mallow pulled him aside. She looked in his eyes, very close and very serious. “Ash, you cannot tell the professors about this, understand? Don’t say anything! It’s a surprise!”
And Ash nodded just as seriously, Pikachu doing the same thing from his shoulder. The girl straightened up, solemnity gone so fast it was almost like it was never there. “I know I can count on you to keep Ash from spilling the beans, Pikachu!” and the little mouse crooned under her scritches.
Ash protested—he didn’t need Pikachu to keep him in line! He could do it fine on his own!
Mallow and Pikachu just giggled, a little, and Ash muttered a bitter “traitor” to Pikachu before saying his goodbyes to his friend.
It was hard to keep it a secret from the professors, though. Ash was—good, at keeping secrets, but not when it was something he was excited about! Not when it was something he was so happy for the professors to see!
He decided after dinner that it would be easier to go on a walk because that way the professors wouldn’t be around in case he burst from the pressure of keeping it in all evening. The night was…beautiful. The stars speckled the night sky, bright and numerous. The beach was temperate, the waves gently splashing. Pikachu cheerfully skipped in and out of the water, the quiet pi, pi, pi sounding in time with the rhythm of the tide. Ash just…breathed. Just…took it in. This felt like his whole falling-in-love-with-life-again-thing that he was trying to do in Alola (he’d made a promise to himself that wouldn’t ever be forced into hating it again).
The professors were getting married.
Constellations freckled the sky like a child’s face in summer. It was so clear—could he see the Milky Way? Stars twinkled, and—that was Orion, and the Big Dipper, and was that the Zeraora constellation Gladion had pointed out to him?
This felt just like stargazing on his journeys.
Wonder—filled him, and.
Tomorrow was going to be great.
____________________
Some sort of—well, it wasn’t anger, but it was certainly impatience—rapidly arose. Kukui tried to ignore the rude awakening from Ash. And—not like Ash knew, but he had been up until three in the morning at least, and by that point he was already deep in his really only partly coherent research. He hadn’t made it to the couch until maybe four.
He was exhausted and he needed his coffee. There wasn’t even any school today, kid, give it a rest.
But then—after the kid dragged him up the stairs—he saw…Burnet? In a wedding dress?
His mind was going to implode. Or explode. Or do anything but properly work enough to enable him be able to wrap it around the situation. They were getting married? Right now? The kids had planned a surprise wedding?
The same fondness and pride welled, deeper than before, and he couldn’t stop smiling again. Those kids…
He couldn’t have asked for better students.
Kukui wasn’t even quite sure how he ended up in the years-old tuxedo, mind still reeling with the implications of it. He had only announced it to the kids yesterday! How had they planned a wedding in one day? Where had they gotten the money to buy everything? How did…?
Well, maybe now was not the best time to keep wondering; everyone was calling for him. It was time to start.
He walked down the wedding aisle with Burnet and it was perfect because it was breaking traditions and that was the best way to do it. Everyone was there…
Man, his heart was going to explode. He needed to keep it together.
A look over at her, though, showed the same wide smile that he’d fallen in love with. Her eyes were more brilliant than the morning sun, brighter than the summer star, and filled with as much wonder as—well, Ash, every time he saw the kid.
Speaking of, though Kukui only had eyes for his soon-to-be wife (wife!) he couldn’t help but notice the way Ash looked, holding the rings. The kid was so cute—Kukui never saw Ash nervous, not when it counted. He leapt into danger (off a cliff!) without hesitation after his pikachu and he went into Ultra Space with not so much as a thought for himself. But when he was holding the rings for their wedding, he was—shaking like a leaf.
They put the rings on. They said their vows, they kissed, they cut the cake. They danced. It was all a blur of love and joy and Burnet’s eyes, shining with wonder and happiness and celebration.
The world around them didn’t matter anymore, not as the newlyweds swirled round and round on the sand, music growing loud. There were cheers, distantly, and he briefly noticed that all eyes were on them. Everyone else was clapping to the rhythm of the violins as the melody soared, their feet stomping to the beat. Burnet’s eyes were only for him and his for her as they dipped and laughed and—well, he honestly felt like a child again, dancing so exuberantly. They hadn’t planned to have any sort of celebration; hadn’t felt it was necessary, didn’t have enough money, and both were too busy as researchers, let alone Kukui’s job as a teacher and guardian of Ash (not like it took much work) to even think about taking the time. They didn’t have to, though, because in Alola people shared everything. Shared the burden, shared the love, and shared the celebration. Ash was, once again, helping him to remember that.
The melody intensified one last time and Burnet laughed, surprised, and gave just a little squeal as he dipped her so low her hair brushed the sand. Suddenly, suddenly, the music stopped, all at once, and the world around them became real again. Burnet’s hair was a mess, and she was panting, and disheveled, but she was as beautiful as ever. He was sure he was in a similar state, itching to take off his shirt. The cheers grew louder, whistles sounding in sync with Rowlet’s chirp, which he could pick out even in all the noise, and Pikachu’s squeal, and—and Ash’s cheering, the loudest of them all. Husband and wife smiled brighter, glancing to each other, to Ash, and back to each other. Kukui squeezed her hands in a sentiment that needed no words.
They loved that kid.
Kukui stepped away from Burnet, bowing chivalrously, as she curtsied, and they both broke out laughing at the formalities. Champagne was popped (and the man gave a stern look to Ash, because he knew he was smarter than that, but sometimes Ash did things without thinking and he was not particularly keen on seeing what alcohol would do to that kid, let alone the problem with drinking laws here on the islands.) The festivities continued, and Burnet launched her bouquet into the waiting crowd of women, where his students were particularly keen on catching it. They shrank a little under his raised eyebrow.
All in all, though, it was a wonderful day—probably his best so far. They nearly crashed on the couch when they got in, Burnet kicking off her heels (as Munchlax promptly had to dodge). Kukui practically ripped off the shirt that had been suffocating him all day—although it had not bothered him all that much, as he was more focused on the woman sitting next to him. Ash bounded in with all his never-ending enthusiasm, Pikachu on his shoulder, a minute later, and practically jumped on the two of them in his quest to find room on the green cushions. Rotom was begging to watch Alolan Detective Laki—and was today its air date?—but Burnet wanted to watch a cheesy rom-com, and as much as Kukui usually hated them, he was inclined to agree.
First, though, he had a job to do that he hadn’t had the chance to yet. “Hey, keiki,” Kukui said, beckoning with his hand to Ash, who tilted his head (an action Pikachu mirrored) but complied all the same. “What is it, Professor?”
“Something I need to do!”
He tackled the kid to the couch, hugging him fiercely, and Ash grunted before giggling—the sound he and Burnet loved the most. Pikachu jumped on top, chattering cheerfully (which earned him a look from Ash and the man wondered, not for the first time, just what the little mouse was saying.)
“What’s this for, Professor?”
“For,” he began, grunting as Rowlet and Munchlax joined Pikachu, “planning a wedding, Ash. You and your classmates…I couldn’t thank you enough. You have no idea how much this meant to us, right Burnet?”
The woman nodded earnestly, smiling and joining the—well, it had become more of a dog pile than a group hug, now—and Ash made a noise, being the unlucky bottom of the heap. They all laughed again, getting up off the poor boy, and Ash gave the two of them a real hug—one of his special ones, that was tight and warm and filled with more strength than those scrawny arms should be able to muster. “Of course, Professors, though you really should thank the girls. They did most of the work. It’s not like I’d even know what goes into a wedding!”
They chuckled, a little, and there was a pause, before Ash began again, more subdued than before. “I’ve…never been to a wedding before. This was really nice. Thanks for…having me.”
And there was so much more behind that statement that Kukui could examine, could pick apart and scour to find the deepest parts of Ash’s inner workings (and he probably would’ve liked to, if he hadn’t known Ash as long as he had) but maybe he knew the kid well enough now to get what he meant, or maybe he didn’t need to. Burnet and Kukui just hugged tighter.
“Of course, keiki.”
____________________
The twenty-second of May was a week away. Ash never even tried to tell them, the little bugger, and if Kukui hadn’t heard about it—from Delia, when he first assumed some half-semblance of guardianship over Ash, from the legal documents that came with enrolling Ash in the school, from the field trips, from the hospital—he never would’ve known. Perhaps Ash didn’t find it of consequence, or maybe he assumed the professor already knew about it, or—maybe, maybe, he was just doing the thing he did where he never mentioned anything that should matter, simply because his vexing little habit of staying silent—picked up from years on the road, picked up from spending much more mind space on the path ahead than anything else—was a challenging one to break.
Regardless of his reason for withholding the information, Kukui did know about it, and then so did Burnet, and then his friends. And—if the wedding was anything to go by—Alolans were notorious for throwing great parties, weren’t they?
It was a simple matter, really. A five-minute talk with Mallow after school, something that, when Ash inquired, was simply a discussion about a grade, was all that was needed before food was taken care of. Lana and Lillie, for all intents and purposes, were going out to get frozen yogurt together—definitely not painstakingly planning out the arrangement of balloons (as if Ash would actually care how they looked. Knowing the kid, he’d just be excited to pop them) and decorations. As for invites, well, Sophocles just decided to go along with Kiawe’s deliveries that day in the hopes of getting some extra ice cream from his farm. The location? Easy, the beach, Ash loved it out there. Activities? Burnet and Kukui lived with the kid, certainly it wouldn’t be hard to figure out what he wanted to do (although, now that he thought about it, Ash sometimes had a one-track mind when it came to battling. Maybe they should do a small competition of sorts?)
And the cake—well, everyone sort of wanted to take care of that, so it was fair enough that the kids worked on it together. Kukui would just have to—keep him busy, somehow, because while it was easy enough to dismiss one or two going out on their own, all of them might be a bigger challenge without arousing any sort of suspicion.
There were a couple moments when the planners’ hearts skipped a beat, because there was no way Ash let it slip under his radar. When he dropped in for a surprise visit to Mallow’s family restaurant and saw them whipping up a storm much more than usual (“What’s this?” he asked, easy and cheerful, “you’ve got a lot of food cookin’ here, Mallow!”
“It’s nothing!” she exclaimed, perhaps a bit too eagerly, trying not to trip over her own feet. The pile of plates in her hands almost crashed to the ground, and she cringed in anticipation, before Ash was there, steadying her load. He didn’t have the chance to wonder at her rushed answer, instead offering “Hey, you need help? I can step in!”
“It’s fine, Ash! It’s fine! There’s just—“ and she glanced off to the side, “—a big catering order that came in! We can handle it!”
He smiled, sitting back and stroking Pikachu from where he was leaning a tad to eagerly off his shoulder, nose in the air. “Well, alright then, Mallow, good luck!”
She sighed in relief as he walked out the door.)
When he dropped into the department store, in chase of a new Laki wig for Rotom, only to see Lillie and Lana decidedly not eating frozen yogurt (“Mine got ruined by you stepping on it, Ash, you have to get me a new one!”
“All right, all right, Rotom, I’m going!”
The automatic doors slid open, Rotom practically pulling the poor boy to the merchandise section. He went willingly, for the most part, but planted his feet at the sight of a flash of blue and white, the frills of a wide-brimmed hat at the corners of his vision. “Lana? Lillie? What’re you doing here?”
The two of them, startled, whirled around to see his confused but still smiling face, Lillie not so subtly holding a flash of colors behind her back. “Oh—Ash! Hi!”
Her voice was a little too loud and Lana cringed, strangely, as Ash looked on, before an impish grin spread across her face. “We’re getting supplies to go hunting for marowak ghosts, Ash, wanna join?”
An involuntary shiver ran up his back, but he cocked an eyebrow. “In the party supplies section?”
Pikachu giggled, a little, but Ash didn’t have time to discern the meaning behind it before Lana’s smile grew only wider. “Do you want to know what goes into luring the ghosts? It has to be done in the dead of night, Ash, when the sky’s black, but do you want to come? You’d have to sneak out, of course, but—“
Ash decided, then, that he did not want to know any more. “I’m good, I’m good, thanks! Uh—have fun, guys!” and he let Rotom push-pull him further into the store.)
When he dropped by Nina’s pancake house, arms full of egg cartons, to find her whispering with Sophocles and Kiawe (“Hi, Nina, I got the eggs you asked me to—“
Nina, Kiawe, and Sophocles looked up, their almost conspiratorial look quickly shifting to one resembling children with their hand caught in the cookie jar as Ash stopped and looked, eyebrow raising. There was another moment of silence, as no one moved, before Mina rushed forward and the two boys traded looks. “Yes, of course, Ash, thank you so much!”
“No problem!” He exclaimed, his eyes crinkling. “Hey, uh—Kiawe, Sophocles, whatcha doin’?”
And though he was really only asking inanely, expecting a casual answer like—“We wanted pancakes” or something of the sort, they clattered over each other, both stopping and starting and stuttering. “Just stopping for a chat!” was yelled by Kiawe, who was sporting a, frankly, quite constipated look.
Ash just stared for a second longer, debating whether he should push, before he decided not to. Let his friends do as they will, and besides, that wasn’t weird! He loved stopping by to chat with people! So he turned back around left the store; he had errands to do besides.)
When Ash, in a manner much unlike him, actually made it into the house without a sound. (The door swished open and closed, barely creaking, and he set his backpack down. There was muttering coming up the stairs, and Ash wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but it was sort of hard not to—there was a little bit of urgency in the professors’ voices. What if something was wrong?
“…think we definitely should, he’d love that…”
“…and I could try to contact…! We might be able to reach…”
“Ku, that would be so cool! I’d love that—“
And she cut off whatever she was going to say when she made eye contact with a slightly perplexed Ash, Pikachu on his head.
“—Ash! Hi!”
He had a question on his tongue but it was forgotten as she swept him up, holding him close. Pikachu squeaked indignantly, jumping from Ash’s head to hers. She was warm and smelled of the ocean breeze, her embrace soft and loving. A heavy hand landed on his head, taking his hat, and he laughed. “Professors, professors!”
“Ash, it’s good to have you back! Make sure you feed your pokemon!”
And if there was any lingering wonder, it was gone now, as he moved on to taking care of his team.)
All in all, though, Ash didn’t seem to suspect a thing. It was the day before, now, and they had a cake to make and a kid to distract. That morning, Kukui, in an incredibly fortunate move, managed to make it up the ladder to the loft without making enough noise to wake up the kid still slumbering (though, to be fair, he was not the lightest sleeper, so maybe he didn’t have much to worry about). Pikachu, who’d started to blink his eyes open, lay curled on his chest. The professor made a stay quiet gesture and beckoned to the pokemon, who tilted his head, regarding him, before extricating himself from Ash’s mess of arms and ambled to him, only emitting the tiniest cha as he stretched.
Kukui informed Pikachu, as quietly as he could manage, that Ash’s birthday was tomorrow. The mouse, with a sigh that seemed bigger than a creature so small should be able to muster, leveled a deadpan look to the professor, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Perhaps it was.
“We’re doing a surprise party for Ash, and today we’re making a cake. I’ll need your help to distract him, both this afternoon and tomorrow. Do you think you can do that?”
The pokemon puffed out his chest, nodding proudly. He could manage that very nicely, it seemed, and Kukui sat back, satisfied. “Thank you, Pikachu. I’ll be helping you this afternoon, but tomorrow you’ll be on your own.”
And with that, he was back down the ladder, and it wasn’t half a minute later when Rotom started to fly around, shouting at Ash to “Get up right now!”
He chuckled, and exhaled, and thought to the next twenty-four hours. This was going to be great.
____________________
There’d been an anticipatory undercurrent in the past week. He wasn’t sure what for—there wasn’t anything big coming up, unless the professor was planning another surprise-ish retreat to Kanto or a different region. That wouldn’t exactly explain why his friends were acting just a little off, because if it was a surprise then he wouldn’t be the only one out of the loop.
Ash largely dismissed it, though, because he’d learned the hard way that it wasn’t good for anyone if he put too much effort into trying to wrap his head around something that probably wasn’t important, anyway. He’d thought about asking, but everyone was just a little tense around him, and there was a brief flash of worry that—had he done something wrong?—before he brushed it off, because, after carefully cataloguing all of his interactions and everything he’d done in the week preceding, there wasn’t anything that would’ve angered anyone.
So it must be unimportant, he decided resolutely, and besides, people were allowed to have their secrets.
He awoke the morning of the twenty-first of May to a grating Rotom and a chest absent of the warm weight it usually held. It only took a moment for him to glance over and see Pikachu sitting on his haunches and looking down the ladder, curiously enough, but he exclaimed a greeting and leaped onto Ash’s shoulder the moment he was on his feet, and the time for questioning was gone. “Morning, buddy! Morning, everyone!”
The feeding of the pokemon went about as swimmingly as it normally did (meaning, of course, that it did not go swimmingly at all, and one or more of the following happened: Lycanroc getting a little too eager for his kibble, tackling Ash and making him spill the whole bag, Munchlax then attempting to eat the entire spilt bag, while the rest howled and/or squeaked, growled, and screeched at him, and, after Ash finally getting food into each of their bowls, Rowlet trying to eat from Pikachu’s, which he didn’t take kindly to, ending with a fried and twitching bird and a not-very-sorry mouse.)
Surprisingly enough, the day at school did go swimmingly. No Ultra Beasts, no Team Skull, no particularly spirited jesting from Sophocles, who often tried to rile Ash up just because he knew he could—which, of course, often resulted in even more spirited yelling that, while not actually carrying any malice, ruined the peaceful energy of the classroom enough that their teacher sometimes sent one or both of them out to “get some air.” The rest of them did keep stealing glances at him, enough that it had him wondering if there was a particularly unruly patch of hair sticking out of his hat, or possibly something stuck in his teeth, but normally Pikachu ended up pointing that kind of stuff out, and he hadn’t, so Ash had to assume that either there was nothing wrong or Pikachu was making up for the teasing mood that Sophocles lacked.
The last bell rang out and he almost jumped, because—with a look at the clock—time had passed faster than he’d been aware of. It was the weekend tomorrow, and Ash was hoping that maybe everyone would be free to hang out (and, he spared just a thought for it, it was his birthday tomorrow, and maybe he could get some sort of celebration out of it. He didn’t need a party, of course—no, nothing of the sort, because Alola was the best gift he could have, and besides, he didn’t need anyone to make a big deal.) But, it seemed, that everyone was busy—Kiawe’s farm needed extra help, and Mallow had promised her father to make a special drink to bring in more customers, Lillie was going to train with Snowy, Sophocles had inventions to work on, and Lana was going fishing. He offered to go—he could help with the farm, or drop in to give Mallow’s restaurant an extra customer, or help Lillie train—but they were all very adamant, and it was probably better to let it be.
Besides, he didn’t have a second to think on it any longer before Kukui had a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Ash, want to help me with some grocery shopping?” and he was going to agree anyways when the professor added fondly “I’ve got a hungry freeloader, after all.”
There were good-natured titters from his friends but Ash let it slide off his back. He’d already had this discussion with the professor—meaning, of course, that he’d tried countless times to offer to pay for his own food, own utilities, and the professor refused each time. Ash hadn’t backed down, though, and he agreed that Ash could help around the house, if he wanted to (this, most decidedly, did not include doing laundry, which Kukui and Burnet handled themselves).
Pikachu was certainly more eager than normal to head off to the marketplace, practically throwing his weight and overbalancing Ash, and Kukui’s hand was clapped on his other shoulder. It was bright and sunny, as always—it was still firmly in spring, but summer was approaching like an ambling snorlax—and while Alola was always warm and temperate, what with the tropical climate, he could feel the heat rising, day by day.
(There’d been only one birthday spent in the snow. A storm, spring-on-the-verge-of-summer buffeted by blizzard winds, an unnatural climate crisis that he still heard of, spoken in passing reverent whispers.)
They visited Anela, who had fresh berries for them as always (“On the house,” she spoke kindly, as she pushed them into Ash’s hands. He tried to protest, like always, but she shook her head, like always. She’d told him, once, that he was always welcome with her, for taking such good care of Litten. She hadn’t accepted his justifications—that anyone would do that, it was the bare minimum that such a great pokemon deserved, but her eyes just twinkled with a certain fondness and wisdom that came with age, he supposed, so now he just accepted them.)
Professor Kukui and Anela shared a look as Ash waved her goodbye, and Ash was starting to wonder just how much he was missing—everyone around him seemed to be trading glances that he wasn’t picking up on, and it was a little frustrating, because interpreting those looks had never been his forte but he was feeling particularly useless as of late.
Their errand trip through the market took quite a bit longer than normal—the professor found a reason to visit every single stall and chat with the people there, and while Ash didn’t mind, his arms were getting a bit—just a bit—tired after lugging around their filled-to-the-brim brown paper bags.
Finally, finally, they’d stopped by everyone, but Ash was determined to at least get some malasadas from Team Rocket’s truck, both because—well, they’d been chiller than normal in Alola and the more money they could get from honest means the less likely they were to attempt to steal pokemon, and because he just wanted honey malasadas.
It was late evening by the time they got back home, and Burnet was waiting, and the two of them shared another look that he couldn’t decipher and he almost wanted to huff in frustration but instead he started unloading the groceries. He supposed he couldn’t stay frustrated when Kukui and Burnet worked together to make one of his favorite meals and let him choose a movie to watch and they were all snuggled and warm in front of the TV—Burnet on his right, her arm curled around his head, almost unconsciously carding through his hair, Kukui on his left, arm stretched behind and around him, Pikachu on his lap, curled up tight, letting out his little croons that were so slight he had to strain to notice them, and Lycanroc curled at his feet.
Ash had a knack, he’d quickly learned once moving in, to fall asleep in front of the television. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t trying to stay awake, but—in other regions, he was much more used to going to sleep when he was tired and waking up with the sun, with not much time to stare at a screen (not that he had access to it in the middle of the wilderness). This rather unfortunate habit (well, depending on who you asked) was particularly prevalent with Alolan Detective Laki, because Ash wasn’t the most interested in the show—it was always entertaining in the beginning of the episode, but around the middle his brain started to get muddled, and by the end he was long gone, much to Rotom’s continual ire.
So he didn’t have much chance here, and he woke up in the loft. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it was still dark out, and Pikachu was giving him one of those looks. He squinted his eyes to see in the dark and read the time of the analog clock on the wall opposite, and while he couldn’t tell exactly when it was, it was after midnight. His buddy seemed to realize it too, because when Ash looked back, he got closer, touched their noses together, and muttered a
Happy birthday, Pikapi.
___________________
Professor Kukui was way more worried than need be, Pikachu thought, about trying to keep Ash distracted this morning. It was simple enough, and he knew that Ash probably wouldn’t even wonder. Pikachu loved his trainer, he really did, and it irked him when people seemed to think he was stupid because he certainly was not—would someone who was stupid be able to come up with his crazy battle strategies in the heat of the moment that no one else would dare try? Would someone who was stupid be as adept at reading pokemon emotions as he? But Ash had the tendency not to spare a thought for himself, to believe that, despite all evidence to the contrary, things that deserved celebration when relating to him were unimportant and barely worth a passing mention.
That included his birthday, which he still had not mentioned to anyone here in Alola, not once.
So the professor need not worry, and even if Ash was a little more aware of the situation, that would be fine anyway, because Pikachu was very skilled in all departments Ash-related. His partner was awoken, softly (before Pikachu could follow through on his—only in passing!—idea to shock him awake, because that was always a fun birthday present!) by Professor Burnet, who led him to the table without a word. Kukui was there too, and they were both smiling, big and fond, and there was a big pile of pancakes in the center of the table. Pikachu took the very important matter of investigation into his own paws—hopping off Ash’s shoulder to sniff them, ignoring the weak protests of the professors—and noticed that these weren’t just normal pancakes, no—they had sprinkles in them, yellow sprinkles, and Pikachu definitely wanted some, whether Ash gave them to him willingly or not (he knew that Ash would give them willingly, of course, but it was all just a little more fun when it was a game.)
He noticed, too, that there was ketchup already set out on the table, and he squeaked in pleasure, which had his partner laughing and picking him up, stroking him in just the right places. Pikachu watched as Ash looked on the display, tilting his head, and glanced to the professors a little questioningly, and sometimes Ash was just a bit hopeless.
The professors did not explain beyond wanting to have a nice family breakfast, and Pikachu could practically see as Ash’s heart swelled, his smile brightening. He got a big heap, and Pikachu counted—that was five, six, seven, eight—and surely Ash could do with just seven, right?
Ash let out a weak cry of protest as the top of his stack was stolen, faster than he could blink, but only shook his head resignedly and stroked his partner’s head, pushing the ketchup closer.
Pikachu was very delighted by this development, because Ash was practically giving him free rein to take as much as he wanted! Not one to look a gift rapidash in the mouth, Pikachu took advantage of this gracious opportunity, sighing in pleasure as he dug into the now-ketchup-covered stolen goods, and Ash didn’t even cringe at the odd flavor combination or at Pikachu’s gluttony, and he quickly decided that Ash’s birthday was his favorite day of the year.
Ash commented on the yellow sprinkles in the pancakes, extra happy because they were his favorite color, and Pikachu didn’t have to think at all before knowing it was because of his fur.
It was a happy affair, breakfast, as Pikachu stole another two of Ash’s pancakes and the professors didn’t even comment on the fact that Pikachu was on the table and eating without a plate. The conversation flowed easy, laughs ringing melodically through the morning, and Pikachu paused for a moment to regard Ash, who looked happier than he had in a long time, and he decided this was a Very Good Thing and also he couldn’t wait to see what Ash would look like this afternoon.
Then plates were cleared and Pikachu steered Ash out the door. He wasn’t even sure where they were going, but he went anyway, and when he looked to his partner questioningly, Pikachu told him for your birthday. Ash smiled, his small little knowing smile (though he didn’t know much at all) and just let Pikachu lead him this way and that, muttering directions from his shoulder. They went and bought more malasadas and James muttered a passing happy birthday, Twerp, as the warm paper bag which smelled of cinnamon changed hands. Then they were out, walking to the forest, and Pikachu didn’t let Ash eat the malasadas even though he wanted to. Patience! He told Ash, because he knew Ash was not the most patient but also he could wait for a little bit and besides he’d just had breakfast.
Pikachu would say Ash couldn’t be hungry, it was only thirty minutes ago, but then Pikachu would be lying because he, if anyone, knew that Ash’s appetite was seemingly limitless and the kid sometimes thought with his stomach more than his head.
Eventually, eventually, they got to a clearing in the forest, and Pikachu thought that this was just perfect. The grass was a bright green, new shoots peaking out, looking like they hadn’t been trodden on by wild pokemon yet. The sunlight spilled through the leaves, scattering like dewdrops and dancing as the leaves above swayed with the slightest of breezes. Ribombee buzzed, bird pokemon chirped, and the morning glory still hadn’t burned off yet.
Yes, Pikachu decided, this was perfect.
Sit! He commanded, and Ash did so with a bemused snicker, because he still wasn’t sure exactly what they were doing. “Alright, Pikachu, what did you bring me here for?”
Picnic! For your birthday! You and me!
Something changed in Ash’s eyes, from fond bafflement to a little bit of wonderment and gratitude. “You and me?” he asked casually, leaning back on his hands.
Like old times.
The smile grew, and Ash shifted to gather Pikachu up in his arms, tight and warm and fond. “Oh, buddy, you know I love you, right?”
Ash was silly, Pikachu remarked, because of course he knew, and of course he loved Ash back too. They pulled out the malasadas, eating them slowly, savoring the taste, as the breeze ruffled Ash’s hair and Pikachu’s fur. “It really is a beautiful day, huh? Like the universe is smiling down on us.”
It better be, Pikachu grumbled, only feigning annoyance. You’ve saved it enough times.
“Pikachu,” he admonished, only feigning chagrin, “you know we don’t do that for recognition.”
We should still get it, though, went unsaid, but Pikachu’s tail was flicking a little, miffed.
Ash looked up at the clouds, falling back. “We sure have been at it for a long time, haven’t we buddy?”
A long, long time, Pikachu added, as he joined Ash in his cloud gazing. He knew that both of them were a lot older than they should be. Ash was seventeen years old (or—if basing by the sun’s position in the sky, it was about midmorning—sixteen years, three-hundred-sixty-four days, and twenty-two hours) but certainly, certainly, his soul was much older.
Pikachu found that maybe it was better this way.
Ash was still just an excitable kid. Both Pikachu and Ash knew this. But he also wasn’t, because he was also an adult for seven years now, also a world-weary (but not worn) traveler, also an expert world-saver.
The world wouldn’t be here, if not for Ash and his partner.
The universe was absolutely right to be smiling on them.
Eventually, eventually, they rose from their position, as the sun rose higher in the sky. Eventually, eventually, Ash gathered up the now-empty paper bag and began the walk back home, Pikachu on his shoulder.
Happy birthday, Ash.
____________________
Kukui wasn’t sure where Pikachu led Ash, but whatever he was doing, it worked. The beach in front of the house was crowded and loud—all the kids setting up decorations, Mallow’s dad setting up the food, gifts piling up on a picnic blanket, music set up, and a battlefield crudely outlined (sand wasn’t the easiest to work with). And, most importantly, there was no Ash to be found. His pokemon, of course, were all a little hyper, what with everything going on, but once Kukui explained it to them, they were happy to help—Rowlet helpfully sticking decorations in places Lillie couldn’t reach on her own, Torracat helpfully marking the battlefield, and Lycanroc not-so-helpfully digging up the sand.
It was a whirl of planning, setting up, and greeting the guests as they arrived, and before he knew it he heard chattering and Ash’s cheerful voice. They were coming into the house from the back, thank Tapu, and Kukui was grateful for Pikachu’s quick thinking. Motioning to everyone to stay quiet, he went in to see Ash setting down his backpack on the couch. “Oh, hi Professor!”
His smile was big and his voice energetic, and Kukui nodded to the mouse on his boarder’s shoulder before smiling back. “Hi, Ash! How’d it go!”
“It was so fun! Pikachu and I had a picnic and we ate some malasadas!”
As he launched into a riveting account of their adventures, flailing hands and onomatopoeia and all, Kukui gently led him to the door. He probably wasn’t even aware that they were moving, too focused on his story, before the door creaked open and he was startled by a crowd of people smiling at him, yelling “Surprise!”
Ash abruptly cut off, eyes going comically wide, before looking to Kukui and looking back, moves jerky. He wasn’t saying anything—looked startled senseless, honestly, and Kukui had to appreciate it, because rarely was the kid quiet. Ash always had something to say, always a story to tell (although, it seemed, there were always things he left unsaid. Important things, such as it being his birthday. Ash had a knack, apparently, for talking a lot without saying much at all.)
His mouth was opening and closing like a gaping magikarp, and Pikachu looked at him before cackling so hard he fell off his trainer’s shoulder. That seemed to break Ash out of his shock, and he looked back to Kukui. “Professor, everyone, what’s—what’s this?”
Mallow giggled, before yelling “It’s a party, Ash! For your birthday!”
He looked even more taken aback, and Kukui had to fondly shake his head. “My birthday?”
“Yes, bud, your birthday! Happy seventeen!”
Ash broke out into a smile, finally, and it really was brighter than the sun. His eyes crinkled, smile wide, all teeth and pink cheeks and heels so high in the air like he was going to float away. His hands fluttered at his sides and he embraced Kukui in a hug tighter than the kid should be able to muster with his scrawny arms. It lasted just a second before he ran up to Burnet and gave her the same crushing embrace, and then each of his classmates, and everyone he could. There were laughs all around, Kukui’s heart was going to burst, watching his kid as he glowed. He was just so happy, and he decided this was one of his best decisions. Ash had given them—everyone in Alola—so, so much, even if he didn’t seem to think so. Whether it was sporting that smile every day, helping everyone out, or coaxing his friends out of their shells, he’d done wonders for everyone on the island (and even the other islands too). But, Kukui thought, by far he’d given the most to Burnet and himself, not only bringing them together and giving them a wedding, but making their little family possible in the first place, bringing his boundless joy and endless cheer into the house on the beach. It was only fair that they give him something back.
Ash was still flitting around, thanking everyone, as they wished him a happy birthday. Kukui couldn’t take his eyes off his boarder, as he laughed, as he stuffed his face with snacks, as he regaled everyone with stories—of his day, of past battles, of adventures gone by—and the professor had to note that he really did shine in the spotlight. He’d noticed it when the kid first came into his classroom—Ash had this special ability, an energy about him that drew everyone’s eyes to him. Maybe it was that smile, maybe it was his tendency to go up to everyone and everything and greet them cheerfully, or maybe it was just his enormously intense love for the world. His students had all swarmed the new kid from Kanto, and he’d become a leader of sorts without even trying.
The party was a flurry of smiles and balloons (Ash did, as expected, take great joy in popping them) and celebration. Ash had to be dragged to his gifts, which made him fill with wonder all over again, and he cried, smiling ear to ear. The citizens of Melemele had piled him with presents—berries, candy, pokeballs, pikachu-themed clothing (he saw Ash take particular joy in some yellow pikachu gloves, slipping them on, as the pokemon himself rubbed them gleefully) and more. Pikachu and his other pokemon got gifts too—special treats (courtesy of Mallow and Anela) and playthings, and more than once did Ash find himself at the bottom of a pile of his pokemon.
Cake was brought out at some point, and his students clattered over themselves to tell the story of what it took to bake it—apparently, someone forgot the flour, and they narrowly missed Ash in the marketplace as they went back for it, they burned the first batch, and Togedemaru almost pushed the cake off the counter after they’d gotten it all nice. It was red and blue and Ash closed his eyes, tight, as the candles burned, before he blew them out. Kukui knew that, whatever wish he’d made, it was close to his heart.
Kukui watched, smiling, holding hands with his wife. They looked at each other, deep, and squeezed, before turning back to look at their kid, with cake smeared on his face from where Lana had pushed a fistful into it. It’d been so long since he’d just been able to…well, to be a kid.
They did a good thing.
Right as Kukui tried to surreptitiously slip away, he noticed Ash and Lillie’s brother talking, and while he hadn’t spent all that much time around the teen, he couldn’t help but notice how happy Gladion was, how good that smile looked on his face, in comparison to the scowl he’d seen a lot in the beginning.
Back in the house, he slipped into his Masked Royal gear, because if anything was going to top Ash’s experience so far, it was sure to be this. Mask on, lab coat off, he slipped out the back and into the party.
Ash spotted him first, and the smile, impossibly, grew wider. He waved frantically, with all the look of a kid who’d just seen their hero (Kukui couldn’t quite get over the fact that he was Ash’s hero). Kukui laid out the rules of the party battle competition, because what Ash-themed party was complete without some battling? And the hyper and joyous beaming smile shifted to that ever-determined grin, Pikachu mirroring his trainer. They were battle ready, alright.
The rules were simple enough: the Masked Royal would exhibition against Ash (he was excited to battle this Ash, the one who didn’t know he was against his teacher and guardian), and every round was one-on-one. Each battle had a three-and-a-half-minute timer, and whichever trainer was on top moved on to the next round.
The battle against Ash was amazing, as always—Torracat, who was fired up, against his incineroar. Fire Spin was traded for Flamethrower and the flames seared his face; he and Ash ended in a draw.
From then on, each of Ash’s pokemon got a chance against different opponents. For the matches he didn’t participate in, he was just as excited to watch and cheer his friends on. Lana sparred with Sophocles, at some point, and Mallow with Gladion, and Lillie with Kiawe. Burnet’s munchlax went against Ash’s rowlet, and all Kukui could really keep an eye on was the kid’s joy and excitement.
By the end, it was Ash and Gladion against each other, Lycanroc against Lycanroc, and they tied. Both boys found themselves, rather suddenly, crushed under a pile of their friends. Ash was laughing, and Gladion looked just a little uncomfortable before he traded grins with Lillie and found himself laughing too.
The celebrations continued, and someone found Twister, which ended in the kids piled in yet another heap of twisted limbs. Lana, despite her height, proved champion of the game. “It’s all my swimming,” she remarked, from a position resembling a pretzel more than a human.
As night fell, most of the guests left, until it was just his class remaining. They hadn’t planned it, but they were all calling their parents to ask permission to stay the night and before he knew it he was helping set up tents outside on the beach. A campfire burned and Burnet helped him fish through the cupboards to find some only slightly stale marshmallows, probably left over from the last time Ash went camping with his friends.
He sat inside, with Burnet, Rotom, and the pokemon, hearing distant laughs from the beach. Ash’s voice was the loudest, as always, and he squeezed hands with Burnet one more time.
He loved their family.
____________________
Ash was no stranger to campfire games. With six years spent on the road and new friends every region to boot, there was many the opportunity to get to know each other through games. Sometimes they were harmless and innocent, ‘specially with younger kids around like Max or Bonnie, but there were other times—when it was him and Dawn and Brock, or when Misty came around to join May and Max, or when Bonnie was long asleep and it was just him and Serena and Clemont, it got…less so. Misty had been particularly devious when dragging him into Spin the Bottle on their visit to Kanto, which ended with Sophocles snogging Mallow (who pulled away just as quickly) and Brock with Kiawe (who, despite his usual confidence, didn’t seem particularly comfortable with the pokemon doctor) and Ash with a mouthful of gross.
…He did not particularly like kissing girls.
Regardless, though, there was an air of embarrassed mischief among his friends tonight, who wanted to play Truth or Dare, and he was all in, because this was fun and also hopefully wouldn’t end with him kissing anyone.
Chomping on melted marshmallow, Lana started. “Okay, Sophocles, truth or dare?”
“Ugh, why do I have to be chosen first? Fine. Dare.”
Lana didn’t miss a beat. “Go drink some ocean water.”
“Ugh, what, Lana? That’s disgusting.”
“What’re you gonna do, Sophocles, back out?”
Instead of answering, he grumbled and went down to where the water was lapping gently, taking a handful and drinking it, immediately sputtering. Everyone laughed, and Sophocles turned a particularly evil eye on Ash.
“Hey, Ash, truth or dare?”
“Truth!”
“How the fuck do you know Champion Lance and Cynthia so personally?”
Ash blinked, taken aback. He’d already forgotten his friends knew about that. “Oh, uh,” he began, a bit of an awkward laugh in his voice, “well, I know Lance because of some stuff with Team Rocket—the big Team Rocket, not Jessie, James, and Meowth—and since then I just seem to run into him whenever the world’s about to end! As far as with Cynthia, well—I kinda just met her in passing while I was in Sinnoh? She tried to get me and this one dude—his name’s Paul—to be nice to each other, sayin’ that ‘when one life meets another life, somethin’ is born’—and then after that we kinda just kept running into each other until I stayed at her house for the summer when we really became good friends!”
“You stayed at her house?”
“Yeah? S’not that weird. Anyways, Mallow! Truth or dare!”
It went on like that, starting off pretty harmless. Mallow had to say her favorite ever customer, Lillie did a handstand, and Kiawe tried to spin fire like Marowak; and then it got more intense. Lana screamed as loud as she could, which caused the professor to come rushing out before being reassured that yes, they were alright and no, they were not being murdered; Sophocles had to bring a particularly staticky Pikachu into the water, which ended up with his hair all fried and an angry mouse; and Lillie, who was dared to kiss Lana, turned a bright red before pecking her on the cheek.
“Ash,” Lana started, as he looked up from his fifth marshmallow, which was roasting over the flames, “truth or dare?”
“Truth, again!”
She narrowed her eyes. “What’s up with your aura? You barely told us about any of it, except for that you have lots of it and it’s sort of like magic and then you lost it after the fight with Lusamine. Why are you so secretive about it? Is it special?”
The marshmallow plopped off the stick and into the fire, burning in the flames with a disheartened crackle.
He blinked.
He blinked again.
“Uh,” he started, suddenly, too loud, “my aura, I guess uh—you’re kinda right. It’s like a pokemon move, like Riolu’s Aura Sphere? I don’t know why I’ve got more of—or well, I used to have more of it— ‘cause it just sort of happened.”
He looked down, finally noticing the absence of a marshmallow on his stick, and reached over to the bag to stick another one on there, roasting it for a couple seconds before looking up. “I don’t talk about it all that much because it’s—well, it’s not really that important, it’s just a part of me, as much as Pikachu is or how I wanna be a Pokemon Master! Also, I guess ‘cause it’s sorta dangerous when people find out about it—you saw how Lusamine used it, and before that, I kinda had—“
He completely stopped here, turning the marshmallow slowly. He got it too close, and it caught on fire, burning to a crisp before he could blow it out. He sighed, and put it down. “There was this Hunter who caught and sold pokemon, like Riolu, and I had some run-ins with her, which weren’t a big deal, because she was just a low-life no-good criminal who stole pokemon and I put her in her place! But then she sort of…hunted me…”
His voice trailed off, inflecting up in an almost questioning matter. “Anyways, it all turned out fine; I’m here, aren’t I? We beat her, Pikachu and me, and we never have to worry about her again!”
He pumped his fist, as the atmosphere changed from tense to excited, at least for him. The rest of them sat there, staring at him, and he didn’t really like how they were looking, so he chose to ignore it in favor of sticking another marshmallow on his stick and actually roasting it right this time.
The tension broke, though, after another minute, and they were all laughing again. No one really wanted to continue the game, so they switched to telling stories, and the moment was all but forgotten.
Ash made a perfect fifth s’more.
____________________
It was right when Kukui was starting to regret staying up late with Burnet when the front door creaked open. He didn’t glance, at first, assuming one of the kids had just come to make a two o’clock bathroom run, before footsteps (trying and failing to be quiet) instead approached the couch. “Professors?” His voice was small, and if it hadn’t been the dead of night, he wouldn’t have heard it.
“Ash? What are you doing up, honey?” Burnet whispered back.
He wordlessly crawled up to the couch with them, snuggling between. His skin was rough with stray sand sticking to it, slightly chilled with the night air. The two professors looked down at him expectantly, Burnet stroking his back. He pushed his head into Kukui’s shoulder fondly. “Just wanted to thank you guys. I—I never expected anything like this, ever, but it was really really cool and nice and—well, just really great. So. Thanks.”
Burnet crooned, pulling Ash in tighter. “Oh, honey, of course. You are such a blessing in our lives, and you deserve the whole world, okay hun?”
There was a sound a little like a sniffle before he nodded into Kukui’s shoulder. “We love you, bud. Happy birthday.”
It was a murmur so quiet Kukui strained his ears to hear it. “I love you too, Professor Kukui, Professor Burnet.”
They held the embrace a moment longer before he went back out the door to the small tent out on the beach.
Husband and wife held hands, exchanging glances, and smiled once more.
They did a good thing.
____________________
+1
Mina was a spirited painter, if a little out there, and Ash had fun meeting her. Popplio was super excited to paint with her, and her ribombee was well-groomed and well-loved. She showed them a canvas she’d painted, and Ash was surprised to find it was him, Kukui, and Burnet. They were smiling. They looked happy.
“It’s a family portrait!” Lana exclaimed.
Family?
Is that what they looked like?
“It’s your Alolan family, Ash!”
…Alolan family. Huh.
Yeah, that sounded just right.
____________________
+1
Alolan Detective Laki took an interest in Rotom, inviting him to be on the show, and Ash beamed. This was Rotom’s dream! It would be so cool! Rotom was so excited, and Ash was excited for him.
Wait, they were filming overseas?
Rotom was so excited—still. But, but—overseas meant that Rotom would be leaving. Probably—probably until after Ash left Alola!
Ash didn’t know why that hurt so much. Why it hurt so much that Rotom was so happy. He’d had to say goodbye to so, so many others, why was this any different? (Not that it didn’t hurt when they left; it always did, especially his pokemon.)
He fought to keep the rawness out of his voice. “You’re fine with saying goodbye?”
Ash was yelling, now, and he wasn’t really sure why he was so angry, but he was, and it wasn’t fair.
“But Ash, you didn't catch me!” Rotom yelled back, starting to get angry himself, “I’m free to go anywhere I want to!”
Rotom was right, of course he was, but then—it was suddenly clear in Ash’s mind. Fine. He would catch Rotom, even though this was the worst possible reason to catch a pokemon and it would hurt his friend—he didn’t care!
“Fine! Do whatever you want!”
He didn’t catch Rotom, after all, but—he was so angry! Why was Rotom doing this? (Because it was his dream.)
Later that night, Ash, in a rare, unwanted moment of clarity, suddenly understood. He understood why it hurt so much; why it felt so unfair. Yes, he’d said goodbye to a lot of friends before, but—Ash was always the one who left. He always knew how it was going to be. Get to the region. Make friends. Travel. Collect badges, save the world a couple times, and get to the league. Deal with whatever evil team, and then—head on home. Say goodbye. He knew what to expect, and he was always the one who left. His friends never left him.
Was this—was this how it felt, for them? When Ash left?
Lillie talked to him, the next day, after school. He knew he was being—a little bit of a jerk, all day; that’s always how he got when he was hurting (and even though Pikachu—and Kukui, though he hadn’t seen Ash when he was younger and more immature—told him, over and over, that he was allowed to be upset—still.)
She gave him some clarity. It made sense. He knew it was Rotom’s right, he knew it, and he’d been pushing his ideas and assumptions onto his friend. He was the one who was being unfair.
So, of course, the next thing in order was to apologize to Rotom, baring his heart to the pokemon, and—
—huh?
Rotom was staying?
“My dream is to be the best Pokedex in the world—no, the best Pokedex in the whole universe! In order to do that, it’s better to stay with you, because the chances of meeting rare pokemon are much better!”
Ash maybe would’ve laughed, if he wasn’t so flustered, and—and surprised, because Rotom was clearly catching on to Ash’s…tendency to attract danger (how could he have not, really? Ash didn’t really think it was anything special to be around legendaries, since they were still just pokemon, even with the whole being gods thing, but apparently everyone else did).
His heart warmed all the same, and happy tears brimmed at the corner of his eyes, and he held Rotom close (despite the robot’s cries that he could float, Ash, he didn’t need to be carried). Apparently fifteen minutes of fame was enough for Rotom, and Ash was happy that his Alolan family wasn’t losing a member just quite yet.
Alolan family, he thought, as they ate dinner. Professor Kukui was stroking Burnet’s hand on the table, who was sneaking pieces of pikachu- and raichu-shaped macaroni and cheese to give to Munchlax. Pikachu was not-so-surreptitiously lugging the ketchup off the table, and Rotom was buzzing about with a new fact about pokemon. Poipole was painting the walls, and his pokemon were resting their heads on his lap, or sleeping in his backpack, or happily munching away at their own dinners.
Yeah. Alolan family was just perfect.